Speedy outfielder rejoins KC Royals on minor league deal

While their offseason search for a big power bat continues, the Kansas City Royals haven't forgotten the importance of maintaining outfield depth and some organizational continuity. The team's transaction log reflects they re-signed outfielder Diego Hernandez to a minor league deal on Tuesday.

Bringing Hernandez back into the fold after he became a minor league free agent earlier this month signals the Royals still value what he offers. He doesn't bring a lot of power back to the KC table — he's homered only 22 times in six minor league seasons — but he boasts the kind of speed the franchise covets and has decent potential at the plate.

What, though, will Kansas City do with Hernandez, who MLB Pipeline counted among its Top 30 Royals prospects as recently as 2023?

The KC Royals will continue to develop Diego Hernandez

Don't look for Hernandez in Kansas City when the Royals host the Cleveland Guardians on March 27 for their 2025 season opener. Barring spring training injuries to their big league outfielders, he won't break into the club's early season plans; instead, expect him to begin the season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas — where the Royals assigned him as soon as he re-signed — or with the Storm Chasers at Triple-A Omaha.

That's because Hernandez needs a bit more seasoning. Many prospects are major league-ready after six years, but the shoulder dislocation he suffered late in 2023 spring training cost him roughly half of that season. He has yet to reach Triple-A ball.

And despite some good spring training at-bats, Hernandez also fell off at the plate in 2024, slumping to .240 with a .271 OBP. The year marked a substantial fall from his earlier stats, including his .325 batting average in the Dominican Summer League in 2018, .277 in a 2019 rookie ball season, .263 during a 2021 campaign split across a return to rookie ball and Single-A, .284 in stops at High-A and Double-A the year after that, and .262 in his injury-interrupted 2023 season.

With eight outfielders on their current 40-man roster — including recent acquisition Joey Wiemer, who they picked up in last week's Jonathan India for Brady Singer trade — and two more at Omaha, the Royals could have simply let Hernandez shop himself on the free agent market. But his potential with the bat, and especially his speed on the basepaths — he's stolen 112 bases in the minors, including 35 in 2021 and 40 in 2022 — they've wisely chosen to keep him.